The Country Vet

Last night we ventured to the nearby town of Oberon, which was rather daring of us as it usually gets more snow than we do. We went loaded with snow boots and sleeping bags just in case.....
The main fear was black ice on the road but we made it safely there and back, albeit very slowly in the farm 4*4 ute.

The occasion was a retirement dinner for the local vet, Brian. They said it was the biggest gathering ever seen in the small town and with over 250 people I can well believe it.

It was well deserved too. Brian has worked there for 40 years, and only in the last couple has had a part time assistant.
My husband was a sole practitioner for just 2 years, but we well understand the tie to the telephone (in the days before mobiles) and the disruption to family life.
We heard the stories of Christmas days sewing up horses, returning from rare holidays early for a whelping and spending his 50th birthday dinner doing a caesarean. (In the latter case someone had the foresight to get hold of a store dummy, dress it up in overalls and gum boots and sit it at the table, just in case. As it was, dinner proceeded as usual with "Brian" being characteristically quiet.)
Many times he was assisted in the middle of the night by his wife, Pam (who coincidentally I went to school with) and their 3 sons as soon as they were old enough.

A true James Herriot of the central west, he is the loveliest, most humble man you could meet and his services will be deeply missed by the community.